Journey to the Orient, Part II

July 18, 2013

Rotarian Mark Henry continued his presentation on his cruise to Southeast Asia to Estherville Rotarians Thursday.

Henry was particularly impressed with the canals of Bangkok, Thailand - which he termed the Venice of the Orient. Henry and his wife, Paula, stayed at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok and toured such high points as street markets, a 245-foot gold-plated reclining Buddha and lots of parks.

Cambodia was a Third World country by comparison. The Henrys were there during Tet, the Chinese New Year, and despite the relative poverty, they found lots of beautiful beaches.

Their cruise ship traveled four hours upriver to Saigon, now officially Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. They found the people there very polite and very friendly toward Americans.

Henry said the communist government has decided to allow people to have their own property and businesses in the southern part of Vietnam.

At the end of their trip, Hong Kong, they found the city much like San Francisco, situated on hills beside a bay.